RED SOX SPRING TRAINING: Wright knuckling down

DUNEDIN, Fla. – For Steven Wright, even more than a conventional pitcher, shoulder health is a prerequisite.

Throwing a knuckleball renders the elbow an afterthought. R.A. Dickey won a Cy Young Award in 2012 without an ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The goal for Wright, like all knuckleball pitchers, is to keep the wrist and elbow as stiff as possible to allow him to release the ball with no spin.

But without the necessary shoulder strength, Wright can’t repeat his delivery the way he must to make his knuckleball dance. The reason he didn’t pitch after Aug. 31 last season was that pain in his shoulder, pain from an injury he suffered running the bases three weeks earlier, prevented him from repeating his delivery.

“I have to be able to repeat my delivery flawlessly, almost,” he said. “Here I am trying to throw a 73-mile-an-hour pitch with no spin. If I can do that right, it can be effective. If I do it wrong, it’s batting practice.”

Wright was effective in two innings against Toronto on Monday at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, his first start of spring training. He threw 16 of his 21 pitches for strikes and didn’t allow a hit. The only Blue Jays hitter who reached base against him did so on a Brock Holt fielding error. He threw 18 more pitches on the side after he came out of the game.

That Wright got started so late in spring training leaves him with time only to make five starts before the regular season begins. The last of the starts is scheduled for April 2, the day before the Red Sox host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park in the season opener. That would line him up to make his first regular-season start on April 7 in Detroit, albeit with a shorter leash than a starter who has made six starts in Florida.

The same limitations figure to apply to Drew Pomeranz, who will make his first start of the spring on Tuesday against the Blue Jays at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers. Pomeranz is lined up to be the fifth starter in the rotation and make his first regular-season start on April 8.

Wright threw a handful of fastballs and one curveball in his outing Monday. His priority now is to ensure that he’s able to throw high-quality knuckleballs for strikes — which means repeating his release point with consistency.

“I felt like I was able to stay under control,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking, ‘Is my shoulder strong? Is my body strong? Are my mechanics right?’ All of that, we’ve been working nonstop since August to get everything ready for this day.”

Newly signed righty Hector Velazquez walked two and allowed three earned runs in two innings in relief of Wright, a blow to his place in the pecking order of Boston’s depth starters. Rusney Castillo and Mitch Moreland both hit home runs — Castillo to right field, Moreland to left-center field — but the Blue Jays handed the Red Sox a 4-3 defeat on a rainy Florida day.

Lefty Edgar Olmos suffered a right hamstring strain when pushing off a wet mound to cover first base. Olmos has pitched in 11 big-league games in his career, and he compiled a 2.88 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk in the Baltimore organization last year.

Smith throws: Carson Smith threw a modified bullpen session on Monday at the JetBlue Park complex, Red Sox manager John Farrell said before Boston’s game at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. Smith made about 15 throws from the mound under the supervision of trainers. It was the first time Smith had thrown off a bullpen mound since he underwent Tommy John elbow surgery almost 10 months ago.

Smith will throw bullpen sessions every three days as long as his elbow continues to allow it.

“That’s a marker you’re looking for, getting on the mound that first time,” Farrell said.

Tyler Thornburg played catch on flat ground from 180 feet on Monday, Farrell said, and will throw in the bullpen Wednesday. Thornburg hasn’t thrown off a mound since his outing against Baltimore on March 1. His work in the last two weeks has focused on strengthening his shoulder.

Porcello tests thumb: All-but-official Opening Day starter Rick Porcello threw five innings in a minor-league intrasquad game on a back field at JetBlue Park on Monday, his first start since he took a ground ball off his thumb last week.

Porcello threw 75 pitches, 54 of them strikes. He struck out six without issuing a walk.

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